Killing for Love
by Aroara Starrunner
Summary: This is my OC in the TV Show Revolution. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!
1. Miles Matheson

I walked through the woods, my sword on my left side and my bow and quiver hanging on my back. I would have a gun with me but according to Monroe Republic laws, having a gun would be pentalized by death. My white blonde hair swayed gently in the air as the breeze whispered through the leaves. Branches and twigs crackled under my weight as I pushed forward. Traveling all the way from Philadelphia to Chicago was a long trip on foot. I should explain why I'm walking over a thousand miles on foot. Fifteen years ago, a blackout wiped out all the electricity in the entire world. Cars didn't work. Airplanes didn't work. Phones, computers. Nothing worked. Not even batteries. Out of the ashes of this new world, the Monroe Republic rose up. Rebels rose to fight against the Monroe Repbulic not liking the new laws they had set out. I was a bounty hunter before the blackout started. A decent one, but not perfect. But after the blackout, I had some training and I turned into a damn good assassinating bounty hunter. I was now on my way to my do my last hunt. Without any resources, it made hunting a little harder but I had a special way of getting people to talk. I was coming up to a train track when metal clanging filled my ears and stopped me in my tracks. I listened as the noise continued. Sounded like swords being bashed together. I treaded carefully out of the woods and onto the train tracks to see a medium height man with a curvy body fighting another man with sandy brown hair. The one with the brown hair had his back to me but by the way he was fighting, I knew exactly who he was. I smiled to myself as I went around the other side of the train car and appeared on the other side and snuck on the medium height man as I pulled out my sword. Once I got close enough, I wrapped my arm around the man and pressed my sword up against his throat as I peered over his shoulder as the other man who was staring at me wide-eyed. My smiled grew as I stared into his bright, brown eyes. They were brighter than I had remembered them. His eyes used to be heavy, sunken and dark.

"Hello, Miles." I smiled at him.

"Talia, what are you doing here?" Miles questioned him. I put on a fake frown and gave him the puppy dog look.

"Oh, Miles, do I have to have a reason to see you? Can't you just be happy to see me?"

"Oh, believe me, I am. Now, can I have him back, please?" I grinned and shoved the man towards Miles and as the man stumbled forward, Miles slammed his fist into his nose, knocking the man out cold. Miles picked him up by the collar of his jacket and pressed the tip of his sword to his throat. Just when he was about to slice the man's throat, a female's voice sounded. A young woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes came running up towards Miles.

"Miles." The woman called to him as she ran up to him and grabbed his arm trying to pull the sword away from the man's throat. "Miles, stop."

"What?

"He's unconscious."

"He's a bounty hunter. Probably not alone, either. Area's crawling with them. Like ants." I pretended to look hurt.

"Well, jeez, Miles, glad to know how you think about me." I snapped. The young woman peered past Miles at me as a chubby man and another woman walked up to us.

"Who's that?" The young woman asked Miles. "How does she know you?"

"I'll explain after I kill him." Miles growled, his eyes burrowing deep into the bounty hunter's face.

"Okay, so what- you're just gonna murder him in cold blood?" The young woman questioned him.

"Yeah, Charlie. That's the idea."

"Miles, please don't." Miles stared at the man for another moment before he put his sword back into his sheath with a sigh.

"It's, like, one day into this trip. You're already a pain in the ass. All right. Come on, Talia. Help me get him into a boxcar. We gotta lock him up." I helped him lift the man into a boxcar and closed and locked the door on him. I sighed and turned back to the group who were all looking at me questioningly. "This is Talia Ramirez. We're old friends. That's my niece, Charlie. That's Maggie. And that's Aaron. Now that we've made introductions, you mind telling me what you're doing here, Talia?"

"I heard you were in Chicago and I decided to stop by on my way to Pennsylvannia."

"Why are you going there?"

"To collect my brother. Thought we would head south."

"Did the militia take your brother too?" Charlie asked me. I stared at her for a moment.

"Not necessarily."

"Monroe has her brother. We're on our way to get him." My smile grew.

"What a hero." Miles glared at me. "Mind if I join you? After all, we are going to the same place." Miles sighed.

"Why the hell not? We gotta pick someone up first."

"A hitchhiker?"

"And what do we call you?"

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We walked into a small farmer's market with a man yelling at the top of his lungs about how God turned off the power. I scoffed and pushed through the crowd following closely behind Miles.

"Great, they're having a sale on heroin." Aaron muttered. On the edge of the market, there were a couple of militia soldiers beating a guy to the crowd.

"What that man do?" Charlie asked.

"It's the militia." Maggie said, like it was obvious.

"Could be just from breathing wrong." I said as Charlie hurried forward to catch up with her uncle.

"Danny's riding with guys like that and we're-" Charlie began to say but stopped and looked around. "What are we doing here?"

"Told you." Miles said. "I need to talk to someone."

"Miles, wait. My little brother's out there somewhere. He hasn't been more than five miles away from home since he was a kid and it's my job to look out for him."

"If you want to see him again, we're gonna have to go up against Monroe himself and a couple thousand of his men. I can't do that alone. I need help and my help is here. Be right back." Miles turned to leave but Charlie stopped him.

"Where you going?" Miles groaned as he turned back to Charlie.

"Uh, this little place called shut up and stay here." Charlie sighed and turned to me as Miles left.

"Did he always have this attitude?" I laughed and hung my head before looking back up at her.

"You have no idea." I said. I turned my back to her and looked around the market. It was Charlie's small voice that caused me to turned back around and see a man holding a knife to her throat. Three more men surrounded as and I sighed. "Really?"

"Come with us or I'll slice her throat open." The man sneered. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Whatever." The men lead us up a flight of stairs and through a carvan to a room to see Miles talking to the bounty hunter that we had trapped in the boxcar on the tracks. Miles looked at each one of us and sighed as he looked back at the bounty hunter.

"Yeah, I don't know them." Miles said.

"Really?" The bounty hunter questioned him. "They were walking around the train yard with you.

"So? I met them yesterday. I've been trying to bang the british chick."

"Then you won't care if I slice them open." Miles didn't say anything. Charlie began to fight against the man as he attempted to slice her throat.

"All right! All right! Let them go." The men stepped away from us and I looked at them, planning my attack and all the ways I could kill them. Miles looked at me and shook his head, obviously knowing what I was thinking." Miles took off his belt and tossed it to the ground.

"Miles." Charlie said and Miles glared at her.

"Not a word." The bounty hunter handcuffed Miles and led him out the door with the men behind him. I stood there and checked my nails for defects.

"Are you going to go help him?" I held up my hand and counted down from five. When I got to one, people yelling and glass shattering sounded downstairs. I smiled and rushed out of the room and down the stairs. I reached the bottom of the steps just in time to see Miles snap the bounty hunter's neck. Unfortunately, so did Charlie.

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We sat around the fire in silence listening to it snap, crackle and pop as I tried to pick the locks on Miles's handcuffs.

"You know, it was probably all my fault." Miles said. "Yeah. It was, I blame myself."

"We made it out okay." Charlie said.

"Mm. Yeah. That went like clockwork." I picked the lock on his left wrist and moved to on to the right wrist. "Charlie, the next time I tell you I want to kill somebody, let me kill them. She's gonna get herself killed." I broke away the handcuff from his wrist and tossed it aside. "Thanks." Miles got up and put his jacket back on.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm learning my lesson. I'll meet you in two weeks. Main street in Lowell, Indiana. You got that?" Charlie stood up in protest.

"No, wait. You're leaving?"

"I got to go get Nora. We need her." I stood up from the ground and looked at him.

"Nora Clayton?" I questioned him.

"Yeah." I grabbed my jacket and backpack and went to his side. "You're not coming."

"The hell I'm not. Nora's an old friend." Miles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You were never good at following orders." I smirked at him.

"Never have. Never will."

"Who is this woman anyway?" Charlie asked.

"She's really good at blowing stuff up." Miles explained. "And we can't get Danny back without her, trust me."

"Miles, please, let us come with you."

"Hey, you dragged me out here! Lowell, Indiana. Two weeks." Miles and I turned and walked into the welcoming darkness of the woods.

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Miles and I walked side by side in silence until dawn. I was so happy to be in his company again and there were so many questions I wanted to ask him but I had higher priorities to attend to first. It was Miles to speak up first.

"You weren't passing through Chicago were you?" Miles asked me. I knew there was no point in lying to him.

"No."

"You came all the way from Philly?"

"Yep."

"Why?" I opened my mouth to answer but a branch snapping somewhat behind us stopped us in our tracks. I took the lead and backtracked around the sound with Miles behind me. I stepped lightly and avoided any twigs and branches. I crouched low to the ground and peered through the trees to a clearing with a playground that was overgrown with vines. Beside the swing set, stood Charlie, staring at the ground. I sighed and straightened up and pointed to Charlie. Miles's face hardened as he stepped into the clearing and walked up behind to Charlie. He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. "Damn it, Charlie. You're killing me. What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you." She protested. I smiled as I walked by Miles and Charlie.

"Now who's the one who can't follow orders?" I smirked and Miles glared at me before looking back at Charlie.

"I told you I would come and find you." Miles reminded her.

"Not good enough!" Charlie said. "You need to let me come with you!"

"Look, I get it. You want your brother. You've been abundantly clear on the subject."

"No, you don't get it. You need to let me help, okay?" Her voice started to crack towards the end of her sentence.

"Why?"

"Because it's my fault, Miles!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I took care of Danny. After my mom died, it was me. He gets these asthma attacks. So I had to watch him. I wouldn't sleep for more than an hour at a stretch, checking on him- ten times every night just to make sure he was still breathing. I didn't let him out of my sight. . . until the day that they took him, because I was off pouting like some brat. And if I was there, maybe I could have stopped them. Maybe my dad would still be alive. Maybe Danny wouldn't be off scared and alone. And if he gets sick, they're not. . . Miles, I can't sleep. You got to let me help. I can't just sit there and wait." Miles hung his head and lifted his eyes up at Charlie, trying to decide what to do. If he let her come, it'll just make my job a whole lot harder. She'll make bringing down Miles a lot harder.

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I trudged along through the woods behind Charlie and Miles trying to plan out my move. I had to make my move before we got to Nora. She would make it close to impossible to do anything. I stopped and placed my hands on my knees.

"Talia?" Miles called to me. His footsteps got closer to me and I reached for my sword and once he was in range, I pulled out my sword and swipped at feet trying to knock him off balance but I was wrong. I mean, it was Miles Matheson. Not many people can beat him in a fight. "Talia!" I ignored him and swipped at him again but only to take a step back when he pulled out his own sword and counteracted it. I ducked under his blade and ran to his back and before he could turn around, I threw all my weight into his back to knock him to the ground, knocking his sword from his hand. I quickly grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back and wrapped his hands up in rope from my belt. I kept all my weight on his back to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere.

"Wow, Miles, I expected more of a challenge." I said.

"Let him go!" Charlie's voice sounded to my right and I looked up to see her pointing her crossbow at me. I sighed, knowing that she didn't have the guts to kill me.

"Charlie, I don't want to hurt you, but so help me, I will put you down like a dog." I warned her.

"Talia, what are you doing?" Miles panted through the dirt. "Why are you doing this?"

"You don't understand. I don't have a choice. If I don't bring you in, Monroe is going to kill my brother."

"Talia, I can help you. I've helped you before. Let me help you again. You said it yourself, we're going to the same place. We can kill two birds with one stone." My fingers lingered on the rope that was bounding Miles's wrists together, deciding what to do. You could never trust Monroe's word anymore. It would be more wise to let Miles help me. I reluctantly untied Miles and let him up. He rubbed his wrists while he turned to me. "Now, do me a favor. Don't ever attack me again or I'm gonna have to kill you." I gulped but didn't change me expression.

"Then, do me a favor. If I do attack you again, give me a challenge or I'm gonna have to kill you."

"Deal."

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We trudge further into the woods south of Chicago for about another hour when a male's voice yelling orders sounded in the distance. We stopped and I glanced at Miles questioningly. The man continued to shout indistinctly in the distance and we snuck through the trees and looked down a ridge to see soldiers ordering a group of people who were strugging to pull a helicopter. The people looked skinny and filthy. You could see the muscles struggling to pull. I searched frantically through the group for Nora.

"Crazy son of a bitch must actually think he can get the power going." Miles said.

"Who?" Charlie asked.

"General Monroe. And if he does. . . imagine what he can do with one of those."

"What'd those prisoners do?"

"Most of them probably just didn't pay their taxes." I answered as a man dropped to the ground. When he fell, I saw Nora right behind him. "There's Nora." One of the soldiers began yelling at the man to get up and when he didn't, the soldier on the horse shot the man in the back. Charlie covered her mouth to stop her gasp in shock.

"I'll tell you something- I might be good with a sword, but I got jack squat against a rifle like that." Miles muttered.

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Miles and I waited in the treeline, watching the torch's light flicker against the soldier's face as he looked around at the prisoners sleeping on the ground. Everyone was asleep, except for Nora. She was sitting up, watching the soldier. In the fire light, I could make out her medium height and lean figure with coffee colored skin. Her black hair was in a messy bun and her dark grey eyes stood out. A tapping sound came from further down the treeline and the soldier went to go investigate it. Once he was gone, Miles and I walked around the helicopter to where Nora was sitting. Miles knelt down behind Nora and gently placed his hand on her back.

"Buddy, I'd keep your hands off if I-" Nora began to say but stopped herself when she turned to see Miles and me. Miles pressed his finger to his lips to keep her quiet.

"Hi." Miles whispered.

"Miles? Talia?" Miles reached for the cuffs on her ankle but Nora stopped him. "No. Get out of here.

"These aren't even locked."

"Cause I picked it. Now go." Miles yanked the cuff off Nora's ankle and pushed her towards the treeline and we ran into the woods to meet up with Charlie.

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"Thank you _so_ much." Nora growled at Miles as we crouched in the trees and peered out over the camp. "I didn't want to be rescued, Miles. And I sure as hell didn't need to be."

"Wow." Miles said. "You could have fooled me. You were on a chain gang."

"On purpose."

"Yeah, but- wait. What?"

"I got arrested on purpose. Give me some credit. I'm working a job."

"What job?"

"The sniper rifle. I'm stealing the sniper rifle."

"You went through all that trouble for a rifle?" Charlie asked.

"Who the hell is this?"

"I'm his niece."

"You have family?"

"Most people do." Miles said and Nora turned her attention back to Charlie.

"And, yes, the rifle is more than worth it. The militia controls all the guns. So a beauty like that on the black market- priceless. I was gonna sneak up, slit the warden's throat, take the gun, but now sneaking's kind of out."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?"

"You weren't. You were supposed to keep the hell away from me. Remember?"

"Things are different now."

"Like how?" Miles sighed but didn't answer. "Like how, Miles?"

"Like me." Charlie said. "He's here because of me."

"Meaning?"

"The militia took my brother and he's gonna get him back."

"Seriously, what's you angle?"

"No angle." Miles said. "This is for real, Nora. And I want you to come with us. You owe me."

"Oh, for that amazing rescue?"

"You know what for." Nora sighed.

"Okay. But I'm getting that gun first."

"You're never gonna get close to that rifle, not now, not without him shooting you with it."

"You want me help? We're getting that gun."

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Miles and I leaned against the side of an old abandoned shack watching Nora build a makeshift gun out of a pipe from the sink.

"Not exactly a colt .45, but it'll do the trick." Nora said.

"You're gonna shoot the warden?" Miles asked. "With that?"

"Yeah, Miles, that's the idea."

"That thing only works from a foot away. How are we gonna get close enough?"

"We'll sneak up."

"In broad daylight?" I inquired. "Nor, they know what you look like and they'll kill Miles and I on sight."

"So I'll do it." Charlie offered and Miles stopped and mid-chew of his snack bar and glanced at her. "Some innocent girl lost in the woods. I can get close."

"I like her." Nora smiled. "I like her a lot."

"Don't get too excited." I sighed. "She becomes a pain in the ass rather quickly."

"Forget it." Miles objected.

"It's a good idea, Miles." Nora said as she walked over to Charlie. "She just takes out the warden. And you, Talia and I sweep up the rest."

"You can't do it."

"I appreciate the concern, but I-" Charlie began to speak but Miles interrupted.

"No, no. I mean you actually cannot do it. You will choke."

"I won't."

"You, who bitched about me killing somebody in cold blood, you're just gonna walk up, shoot somebody in the face for a sniper rifle?"

"It's not about the rifle. And it's not about you or her or her."

"Really? What's it about?"

"The thirty innocent people down there who are working as slaves. And it's insane to me that none of you have even mentioned it. What the hell's wrong with you?" Nora, Miles and I exchanged glances. "So what do I have to do?"

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I sat on a branch right above one of the soldiers, ready to launch my favorite attack. Charlie came out of the woods with her crossbow in her hand and stopped in the middle of the camp sit as the prisoners were about to start another day of pulling the helicopter. One of the soldiers took notice of Charlie and yelled at her for her to drop her crossbow. Charlie dropped her crossbow and held her hands up in defense as the soldier came running at her.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I was just hunting."

"What the hell are you doing?" The soldier questioned her.

"I was hunting. I got lost." The soldier grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked her forward.

"Hey!" The warden yelled at his soldier. "Take it easy. Bring her over here." The warden sat on top of his horse, with the sniper rifle in his hands. The soldier escorted Charlie over to the warden and stopped just in front of him. Let's see if Miles was right. Let's see if she really does choke. "So you're lost, huh? I know the area pretty good. Where you from?" Instead of answering, Charlie held out her arm and set the miniature gun off on her arm, shooting the warden right in the sternum. I smiled to myself as the warden dropped from the horse. The soldiers began yelling at each other and as Charlie grabbed for the sniper rifle, the first soldier grabbed her and got on top of her. She held the sniper rifle between her and the soldier trying to push him off of her. The soldier below me was about to go help but I dropped from the tree and landed on the man's shoulders. I grabbed his head and snapped his neck, feeling the bones pop beneath my finger tips. Two more soldiers began to fire at me and I rolled to the ground and pulled out my sword. I stood up and charged at the first one, ducking under his gun and going around his back, slicing my sword through his uniform and the blade cutting through his skin like butter. I smiled at my work as the other soldier pulled out his sword and charged at me. Our swords banged together, the rattle filling my ears. But the noise didn't distract me, it only powered me. As he swung his sword at me again, I pushed his blade out of the way with my sword and as he stumbled forward from the loss of balance, I brought my sword back up, slitting his throat and watching the blood pour out like a waterfall. A gunshot sounded to my right and I turned to see Charlie had shot the soldier on top of her with the sniper rifle. I went over to her and helped her up, putting my sword back in my sheath as Miles and Nora walked up to us.

"You know, you two didn't have to come." I said. "I could have done it all myself."

"You enjoy killing a little too much, Talia." Nora said as she took the rifle from Charlie. I looked past Nora to Miles who was staring at me. In his deep brown eyes, I could make out a hint of concern and guilt.

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While Miles and Nora attended to the prisoners, I walked over to Charlie who was sitting on the edge of the helicopter.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, sitting down beside her. She didn't answer me. She just continued to stare down at her hands. She just killed two people in the last hour. That must be taking a toll on her. Miles walked over to us and knelt down in front of Charlie.

"Hey. . ." He said. "Okay, I got to hand it to you. You did good." Charlie finally looked up at her uncle.

"Did good?" Charlie asked him.

"Yeah. All these people are free."

"I killed two men today. Maybe that's not a big deal for you. Maybe it's another Monday or whatever, but it is to me. We shouldn't have to do this. Things should be. . . I don't know. . ."

"You are. . . very unusual."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not an insult, Charlie." Nora exhaled sharply to the right and we turned to see her with her back to us and her shirt off as she tended to a cut on her side. To the side of her right shoulder blade was a small American flag tattooed on her back. "Oh, son of a bitch." Miles groaned and got up and stormed over to Nora with me on his heels.

"What?"

"When did you get that?" Miles inquired as he poked her in the back right on the flag.

"Just relax." Nora said.

"You're not selling that sniper rifle, are you? You're gonna give it away to the resistance."

"Everyone changes, Miles."

"You joined the rebels? You?"

"What do you mean, rebels?" Charlie questioned him as Nora put her shirt back on.

"A bunch of deluded, bleeding-heart-"

"Patriots- trying to bring back the United States." Nora corrected him.

"They will lynch you on the spot for this, Nor." I tried to explain to her as I knelt down in front of her.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'll take out General Monroe first."


	2. The Past Comes To Surface

"Nora, come on, be reasonable." Miles tried pleading with Nora as we walked down an abandoned road with broken down cars on the side of it.

"We've been over this, Miles." Nora said.

"It's just- a gun? Like that? Hard to find these days. You should keep it. Use it to get her brother back."

"Nor, it's not only Charlie's brother." I explained to her. "I have orders to bring Miles in alive or else Monroe is going to kill James."

"Then why haven't you done it yet?" Nora asked and I scoffed.

"Come on, we're talking Miles Matheson here."

"Look, I'm sorry about Danny and James but the rebels need it more than we do."

"You're really serious about this, huh?" Miles inquired. "Full on rebel now."

"Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Because I know you. It's not like you to fight for a lost cause."

"I fought for us, didn't I?"

"Uh, is this a private conversation?" Charlie questioned them. Nora said no while at the same time Miles said yes. I stopped and held up my hand to tell Charlie to stop too. I let Miles and Nora walk a couple yards in front of us so they could have their conversation before I started walking again.

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We walked up to an old diner and there wasn't a soul to be seen. The air seemed still and the area seemed to be a little too quiet. I looked around for any possible danger but there were no signs. We walked to the back of the diner and Nora peered around as if she was looking for someone. A man's voice yelled at us from the rooftop and we looked up to see someone staring down at us, with a crossbow pointed at us.

"Don't move." Another voice came from where we came from and there was yet someone else with another crossbow.

"Take it easy." Nora said.

"It's okay." A black man with bright brown eyes came up behind the man and he pushed the crossbow down. "Nora. Thank god."

"Nicholas." Nora ran to Nicholas and hugged him. I saw Miles look at the two questioningly, with a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

"You got the rifle."

"Did you ever doubt it?"

"Hey." Miles's voice sounded snappy. "I'm Stu Redman. This is Franny and that's Lola."

"They're friends of mine."

"Listen, we're in trouble." Nicholas said. "It's bad."

"What do you mean?" Nicholas walked to the door and opened it. Coughing and murmuring sounded inside and I followed the others inside.

"Oh, my God." Charlie breathed as we entered the diner and saw over a dozen of wounded people.

"What the hell happened?"

"We went on a raid this morning." Nicholas explained. "The militia supply dump out in Chatsworth. We were trying to score some guns, but it was a trap. Soldiers came from everywhere."

"Are all your people accounted for?" Miles asked.

"Twelve dead. One missing."

"Missing? Was he captured?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know. What if he was? What if he's giving up your position?"

"And who are you?"

"Nick, we can't stay here." Nora insisted. "We gotta patch these people up and go."

"We're in no shape to travel."

"You really don't have a choice." I said. "It's only a matter of time before the militia finds you."

"Guys." Charlie called to us and we turned to face her to see her walking from a man's bleeding side. "That man's dead."

"This is what being a rebel gets you." Miles explained to his niece.

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"We did it, okay?" Miles whispered hastily to Nora so no one could overhear us. "We delivered your stupid rifle to your whinny ass rebel buddies. It's time to go."

"Look around you." Nora snapped. "These people are hurt."

"You don't get it. What happened, that was a kill order. Militia's going to be hunting for them. It is not safe."

"All the more reason to get them up and out of here."

"We're supposed to be looking for her brother, remember?"

"Exactly." Charlie said. "It's my brother, so this is my call." Miles squinted his eyes at her and give her a what the hell look.

"Excuse me?" Charlie ignored him.

"How much time do you need?"

"Half hour, tops." Nora said.

"That's a promise?"

"Oh, you are joking." I growled, running my hands through my white blonde hair.

"Charlie," Miles snapped at her. "All you say- all you ever say is, we gotta find Danny. We need to find Danny. That clock's ticking. Now you wanna hang around here, play wet nurse?"

"You said we needed her to get Danny back." Charlie retorted. "Needed. Those were your exact words. Right? So she's staying, I'm staying and you can do whatever you want." Miles sighed and walked out of the diner without another word.

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"Put as much distance between you and here as possible." Nicholas explained to the group who were able to leave. "We don't know each other. We don't talk to each other. Low profile. Two months from today, we'll rendezvous at Bloomington base." Before Nicholas could finish his speech, gunfire started and bullets flew through the glass of the diner. Miles pushed Charlie to the floor and we hid behind the bar as the gunfire continued.

"Who's your best shot?" Miles asked Nora.

"Trevor." She answered and she handed the guy the sniper rifle.

"Get up to the roof. Anybody comes within ten yards- fire. Hurry, before they ram the doors in. Okay, you just buy us some time, all right? Padre. Talia, come with me." I followed Miles down to the basement with Nicholas behind me. Miles walked over to the west wall and began to pull one of the cement blocks out.

"What are you doing?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"We're digging a hole."

"We don't have proper equipment, shovels or tools or anything." Nicholas said.

"So we'll break the legs off the chairs. Use kitchen tools. Whatever we got."

"Chair legs? To dig a tunnel?"

"There's a lot of men up there, okay? Sooner or later they're coming in. So we are gonna shawshank our asses outta here." Nicholas scoffed. "Come on."

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"How many rounds do you think he's got left?" Miles asked us as another gunshot went off on the roof. Candles flickers across the basement. It was now well into the night and we were still surprisingly fighting off the militia. I grunted as I pulled another bucket of loose dirt from the tunnel and handed it to Miles for him to dump. I was sitting on the edge of the tunnel, scooping out the lose dirt while Albert was further in the tunnel on his stomach, digging it.

"We'll get out of here." Nicholas said.

"Well. . . must be nice to have faith. Must make you feel real confident." The door to the basement opened and Nora and Charlie came in. I scooped another handful of dirt out before getting up and meeting them.

"All wired up." Nora said. Creaking sounded from the tunnel and I turned back around just in time to see the tunnel collaspe on top of Albert. A cloud of dust filled the room and without a second thought, Miles dove into the hole, digging for Albert. Miles gave a grunt as he yanked Albert out of the tunnel and he fell to the floor. "So what now?" Another faint gunshot sounded from the rooftop.

"I don't know." Miles breathed, out of breath and throwing his hands up in the air. "Dig it out again, I guess." He sat down on a stool as rapid gunfire sounded outside and I could only assume that Trevor had just run out of bullets.

"And we're out of ammo."

"This is crazy." Charlie exclaimed. "We don't have time to dig another tunnel."

"What's you brilliant idea?" I snapped, biting my fingernail trying to think of a plan.

"We fight them off!"

"There's fifty men up there." Miles informed her. "You cannot stop them."

"You know, that's what my dad used to say. Every time the soldiers would come into our town and they would take our crops and our women. I bet he said it the night they came for him."

"And he was right. He was trying to protect you."

"He was being a coward!" A cloud of anger that I so distinctly remembered washed over Miles's face as he stood up and stormed over to Charlie, his face inches from hers.

"Don't ever, _ever,_ disrespect your dad. Are we clear?" Before Charlie could say anything else, an explosion sounded above us and shook the entire diner as debris coated us. "Tripwire. They're coming in."

"We still got men up there." Nora said as she rushed out of the basement.

"Charlie! Wait here. I mean it. Lola, watch her."

"What am I?" I yelled after him as he followed Nora. "A babysitter?"

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Gunfire echoed throughout the entire diner before they suddenly stopped. I stopped pacing the floor and looking up at the ceiling, my heart pounding. Did they kill all the militia or did the militia kill them? A thunder of footsteps came down the basment stairs and the door opened and a stream of rebels came in with Miles right behind them, dragging a militia man with him with his sword to his throat.

"Lock the door." Miles ordered. "Lola, rope." I searched frantically for rope and when I turned to go tie the captive down in the chair, I stopped in my tracks when I saw who it was. It was Commander Jeremy Baker. "Lola." I broke my stare from Jeremy and looked at Miles. He stared down at me, giving me a silent order. I cleared my throat and tied Jeremy down to the chair.

"What's this about?" Nicholas asked.

"He's their CO. We can trade him. His life for ours."

"Miles." Jeremy chuckled, looking up at Miles. "It really is you, isn't it? And Talia. Oh, it is so good to see your beautiful face again. We've missed you."

"Who's Miles and Talia?" Nicholas inquired. I sighed and closed my eyes as I ran my hands through my hair.

"You know this guy?" Charlie questioned us. Jermey looked at everybody else.

"Oh, you really don't know, do you?" Jeremy laughed.

"How do you know him?" I looked over at Miles, looking for a way to explain.

"Well, they're gonna find out sooner or later." Miles sighed as he put his sword back in his sheath. "Go ahead. Tell them."

"This is Miles Matheson, Commanding General of the Monroe Militia." Jeremy smirked. "A damn founding father of the republic. Second only to Sebastian Monroe himself."

"Miles?" Charlie called to her uncle as he walked away from Jeremy."

"I ought to slit your throat." Nicholas growled at Miles.

"Padre." Miles said. "I thought you were all about forgiveness."

"Christ forgives. I'm not Christ."

"You two knew this whole time." Charlie accused Nora and me.

"Knew?" Jeremy laughed. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is Talia Ramierez. Militia's best, I mean, the best, assassinator. Besides from Miles, of course. And you know why she is the best? Because Miles here taught her everything that she knows." I hung my head and looked down to the floor as my past was laid out in front of me for everyone to see. "You were supposed to bring Miles to Monroe, Talia. Was that too much to ask?" I didn't answer. I just turned my back to him.

"You brought Miles Matheson and Talia Ramierez in here?" Nicholas asked Nora. "On purpose?"

"This is so dramatic. Do you guys remember one life to live?"

"Shut up." Miles barked at him. "Look, be pissed. Hate me. Do what you gotta do. But we got bigger fish, okay? We trade him in, we get outta here."

"Won't matter."

"Yes, it will. Cause like he said, I made the rules."

"Well, the rules of engagement have changed, kid. Monroe's done negotiating with traitors."

"You're a bad liar, Jeremy."

"I'm a bad liar? Look me in the eye and tell me I'm a liar. So let me go. Don't. I've made peace with my Lord. And when my men come in here and cut you all up into strips, you're gonna have to make-" Miles fist connected with Jeremy's cheek with a thud, knocking him out cold.

"I just- I'm confused." Charlie said. "So General Monroe, you- you know him?"

"I'm not talking about this right now." Miles sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I think I deserve an explanation-"

"Really? Do you?" Miles was getting irritated and frustrated and he was letting it show. "Okay. Yeah. I know him. Very well."

"You were in charge of the whole militia?"

"Been a few years, but yeah."

"So you murdered people's fathers and dragged away their brothers?"

"Yes, Charlie! I killed fathers and sons and husbands! I made Talia into the killer that she is today! Is that what you want to know? You happy?"

"Do not talk to me that way. I'm just trying to understand what's going on."

"Well, now you know. Now you know why the militia cannot be stopped. Because they're mine. I trained them. And they are brutal, and smart, and vicious. Because of me. That's why your dad was right. When you see them coming, you don't fight. You run." Charlie turned to me.

"And you just stood beside him, killing people?"

"Yep." I muttered.

"I don't understand how you could just-"

"Because I liked it, Charlie! I liked killing people! No, scratch that. I didn't like it. I _loved_ it." Charlie stared in shock at me as so did everyone else but my attention was only on her. "Don't ask questions that you don't want the answers to."

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Banging sounded on the basement door as the militia tried to break it down. I turned to Miles for an order like I have done so many times before.

"Look, Nora, we just don't have a choice." Nicholas said.

"That's you plan?" Nora asked him.

"Listen-"

"Nick, we all charge out that door, half of us won't make it."

"Half if better than none. Now if you have a better idea-"

"It's easy, actually, to have a better idea than that, cause that idea is awful." Miles said.

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you."

"Or what?" I snapped, standing my Miles's side. "You, a priest, gonna kick Miles Matheson's ass?"

"Talia, enough." Miles ordered me before he started pacing the floor again. "Just take it easy, your holiness. I'm about to save your sorry asses."

"Miles, how?" Nora inquired.

"Make a trade." Miles walked over to Jeremy and smacked him across the cheek until he woke up. "So. You let these people go, I'll turn myself in. . ."

"What?" Charlie exclaimed.

"To you."

"Miles, no." Miles continued to ignore her.

"That's a good deal, right? I bet you'd get a parade for this."

"Hm. I want that rifle." Jeremy said. "The one you were taking potshots at us with."

"Done."

"And Talia." My head snapped at and I looked at him at the sound of my name. "Monroe would love to hear personally from her on why she failed to bring Miles Matheson back."

"Done." Miles said as he began to untie Jeremy.

"What makes you think he'll keep his side?" Nora questioned Miles.

"I've know this guy for much longer than I've known any of you. He'll keep his word."

"Yeah? And what about you word?" Charlie asked him.

"Can't find Danny if you're dead. All right." Jeremy stood up and Miles handed his belt to him and looked at me. I sighed and took my bow and quiver off my back and handed it to him before handing over my sword.

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I sat on the back of a horse facing Jeremy and Miles who had his hands tied and was walking beside Jeremy.

"Miles, it's me." Jeremy said. "You can level with me. Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Miles asked, licking his lips.

"Well, the rumor is Monroe wants you cause you know something about flipping the lights back on. It's crazy, right?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh, I think it's crazy. I think Monroe is obsessed. It's sort of worrisome. I'll tell you something else. He hasn't been the same since you left."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He's- well, he's angrier. Shorter fuse, you know?"

"Not like the good old days."

"There were no good old days, Jeremy." I breathed.

"You know, Talia, I never liked your attitude. I don't think Miles beat it out of you enough."

"And I never like your smirk. I've always wanted to take my knife and cut it right off your face." Before Jeremy could retort something back at me, an explosion sounded in front of the militia followed by another and another one. Debris flew everywhere as well as men sending up a big cloud of grey smoke. Nora came out of the smoke followed by Charlie. Nora ran over to Miles and cut him loose before cutting me loose. I jumped down from the horse and grabbed my bow, quiver and sword from the horse next to me and ran out of the smoke with Miles and the others right behind. As we passed over a bridge, Charlie threw a bookbag down and we ran to the nearest building and climbed to the balcony.

"Talia, I need you to shoot this arrow at that bag." Nora said. I grabbed my bow from my back and took the arrow from Nora as she lit the tip on fire. I pulled the drawstring back and aimed for the bag and released it. The arrow whistled through the air as it hit its target causing another explosion and destroying the bridge so that the militia couldn't get across.

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Nora, Charlie, Miles and I walked in silence through the woods, tension crackling in the air. I was half expecting Charlie to blow up on Miles once we were in the clear but she hasn't yet.

"All right, let's hear it." Miles finally spoke.

"Hear what?" Charlie said, a hint of anger on the edge of her voice.

"Tell me I'm a monster. That I'm garbage. Miles Matheson, General of the Militia. Come on, I wanna hear you say it."

"I'm not gonna say it."

"Why not?"

"Cause I don't think it."

"Yes, you do. How can you not? You don't understand, Charlie."

"So tell me. I want to understand." I placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her bright blue eyes as we continued walking.

"No." I said. "You really don't." I dropped her glare and walked past her to Miles's side.

"Well, fact is you still saved all those people back there. So obviously there's still a part of you that still gives a crap." Miles stopped walked and turned to face his niece.

"You're wrong." He said and he walked on.


	3. The Generals

We walked out of the woods where Miles had just got done interrogating a militia soldier for Danny's location. An eerie silence fell over us as the soldier's words about Miles past lingered in our minds. It was of course, the pain in the ass who had to go poking the bear.

"What stories does that guy know about you?" Charlies asked. He looked like he was about to wet himself."

"Come on, I told you it's none of your business, all right?" Miles snapped at her.

"Look, and normally, I'd agree, except every person that we meet wants to capture you, kill you, kill us for knowing you, or they're flat out terrified of you both."

"Listen, Charlie-"

"We are so close to catching up to Danny by what, tomorrow? And I don't even know who I'm walking with or what I'm walking into." Miles stopped and turned to Charlie as she had once again flipped the fuse.

"Damn it, Charlie, shut up! Let it go. I don't owe you an explanation, I owe you nothing. All right? If you want your brother back, drop it. Or I swear to you, I'm out of here, and you can find him yourself." Miles glared at his niece before storming off and taking the lead of the group.

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*****Flashback*****Five Years after the Blackout******23 Years old****

 _My heart pounded hard against my rib cage, I was surprised it didn't break my ribs. I crouched low in the undergrowth, staring intently at the bag of food and water in the middle of the militia camp that was just begging to be taken. Deer was becoming scarce and I couldn't hunt them as much as I used to. I had to feed my little brother and this was the only way that I knew how. General Matheson and General Monroe stood a couple yards from the bag, talking to each other. I sighed. I wasn't expecting the generals to be here. But knowing my luck, I just had to pick their campsite. Everyone else were on the edge of the campsite either keeping guard or doing something else. This was my only chance. This was my only chance to keep my little brother alive. I swallowed hard and threw myself forward, my feet pounding through the dirt, causing a cloud of dust behind me. Guards began yelling at me but my ears were pounding so much from my rushing blood, I couldn't even understand them. My heart and mind was set on one thing. As I ran past the bag, I leaned down and grabbed the straps of it and continue running to the other side of the clearing as gunfire sounded behind me. My lungs screamed for air as I struggled to keep my airflow steady. My thighs welcomed the burning sensation as I propelled myself faster and faster. I couldn't stop. I wouldn't stop. Not until I get to the ridge. Once I get to the ridge, then I would be safe. I would be to James. Branches snapped behind me as the guards chased me down. My heart fluttered as the ridge came into sight. But just when I thought I would make it, vice grips wrapped around my legs and I came tumbling to the ground. I struggled to free myself but I was held tightly down. I was flipped over onto my back and my breath hitched in my throat as I stared into the heavy, sunken dark eyes of General Matheson._

 _"Talia?" A tiny voice sounded behind me and I peered over my shoulder to see my fifteen year old brother coming out from behind a tree._

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We walked through Lowell, Indiana making our way to Main Street where we said we would meet up with Aaron and Maggie. Voices sounded in the distance and Charlie called out to them. We walked around the corner of a building to see Aaron and Maggie waiting for us.

"Wasn't sure I see you again." Maggie smiled at Charlie.

"I'm fine." Charlie reassured her. "A few scraps, but, how are you guys?"

"We're fine. We're find. We. . . we're just happy to see you."

"This is Nora."

"And this is who's going up against Militia?" Nora retorted and I smiled at her, sharing the same feelings and thoughts. "Really?

"Now you see what I mean." Miles said.

"Um, we're standing right here." Aaron said.

"And this is all charming, but. . . come on. Grab your crap. Let's go."

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, Danny's close." Charlie explained to Maggie. "We can maybe catch up by maybe tomorrow."

"You're joking." Maggie breathed.

"No."

"Let's hurry, then."

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Night fell over the deserted city as we made our way through it. Miles had a torch in his hand and I kept my hand on the handle of my sword, ready to pull it out if there was any danger. A growling noise echoed through the darkness as we walked nearer and nearer to it.

"Miles." I whispered hastily to him, trying to find the source of the noise. He stopped and looked around.

"Yeah, I hear it too." He muttered.

"What the hell is that?" Charlie asked. Miles turned to the source of the growls and tossed the torch in the direction. The torch clattered to the ground and a rolled a couple feet but it gave enough light to see a pack of dogs tearing into the carcass of a buck. There were about five of them. A doberman pinchser, a German shepherd, a lab, and two more mutts. They raised their heads in the flickering light of the torch and bared their teeth at us. They started barking at us, spit flying from their mouths as their teeth clicked together shut with each bark.

"Run!"

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My feet pounded against the concrete sidewalk as I was leading the group away from the pack of dogs chasing us. I felt like I was part of the wind at the speed that I was running at. No one could keep up with me. Except for Miles, of course. Miles kept up with me with no problem while the others trailed behind. Two of my steps matched one of Miles's but I had no problem keeping up with him. I led the group down the alley only to see a chainlink fence blocking our path. Miles picked up the pace and got ahead of me and knelt down beside the fence and cupped his hands together. I ran to him and once my foot was in his hands, he hoisted me up and I grabbed the top of the fence and pulled myself up. I flipped myself over the top and hooked my foot in one of the chainlinks, reaching over and helping Maggie up. Once she was able to get herself over, I let go of her and moved to help Charlie up. Once I had Charlie up over, Miles and Aaron started climbing the fence just as the pack of dogs entered the alley. I jumped down to the ground as Miles flipped over the top. Aaron didn't get so lucky. The german shepherd leapt and grabbed Aaron's ankle in his teeth. He cried out in pain as Maggie pulled out her crossbow and shot the dog in the head. Aaron managed to pull himself the rest of the way over and drop to the ground where we helped him to his feet.

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I paced in front of Miles and Nora a couple hundred yards away from Aaron, Charlie and Maggie as Maggie wrapped Aaron's ankle.

"You know, Charlie didn't deserve that." Nora said to Miles. "You exploding on her today."

"I know." Miles muttered.

"You should go easier on her."

"I'm going to go a whole lot easier on her. I'm gonna leave." I stopped and turned to him.

"Excuse me?" I questioned him as I took a step towards him. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that please because for a second I thought you said that you're gonna leave."

"It is better for everybody, Tal."

"Better for them? Or better for you? Miles, if I don't bring you back to Philly, my brother is going to die. Unless we figure out another way. I need you to help me figure out another way."

"I got the entire militia gunning for me."

"They're after me too, Miles! You want to know why? Because you're ass ain't in Philly right now!"

"Tal,"

"Don't Tal me, Miles Matheson. You're the same selfish dick."

"You have the same crap excuses and whenever you get close to someone, you take off." Nora snapped at him, fuming.

"This is not about us. Don't start talking like it is. Okay?"

"You're right. It's about Charlie. And you made her a promise."

"I don't need any of this."

"She's your family."

"Doesn't make it our responsibility! I have no idea why I signed up for this in the first place. It's not my fault that her dad's dead. Not my fault what happened to her mom. I don't even know Charlie. Family or not, I'm not doing this anymore. I'm out." Miles began to turn around to leave and before I could open my mouth and say something, Miles stopped in his tracks when he saw Charlie standing just a couple yards away, hearing every word of our conversation.

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"The funny this is, I used to be a dog person." Aaron said as he limped through the city the next day. "I loved dogs. I had a King Charles Cavlier."

"A what?" Nora asked.

"Called them a lap dog of kings. It name was Zoey. Sometimes it even wore a sweater."

"Wow." A hand touched my shoulder and I turned to see Miles looking off in the distance at something.

"I'll be right back." Miles whispered to me and he disappeared down an alley. We continued walked until we heard grunts in an abandoned stage area. We rounded the corner to see Miles holding a young kid against a pillar, ready to throttle him.

"Stop!" Charlie yelled. "Stop!" She ran forward and pushed the kid out of Miles's grasp before he could do any damage. As Miles reached for the kid to pull him back, Nora and I grabbed each of Miles's arms and kept him still.

"How long have you been following us?" Miles yelled at him.

"You just notice?" The kid yelled back. "You must be getting old." Miles lunged at the kid and I slammed my shoulder into his chest to keep him back, my feet digging into the sidewalk.

"Ugh! Stop it!" Charlie shouted. "Both of you!"

"He's militia." Miles said.

"Nate, right?" Aaron inquired.

"His name's not Nate." Charlie said.

"How do you know?" Maggie questioned her. Charlie was silent for a moment.

"I saw him near Pontiac."

"You what?" Miles snapped at his niece as he pulled away from Nora and my grip.

"She cuffed me to a pole." The-Kid-Not-Named-Nate said. "Took me two days to get free."

"I thought I handled it." Charlie defended herself.

"Yes, clearly you handled it." Miles growled, sarcasm dripping on his tone.

"Look, we have bigger problems here."

"He's a spy, Charlie. Who knows what he told Neville. Or Monroe."

"So let's find out. He's part of Neville's unit. You said yourself. Don't you think he knows something about Neville? Or Danny? Besides, what the hell do you care? You're leaving."

"She's right, Miles." Nora said as she pulled out some zip ties and went to go restrain Nate.

"Oh, hey, it's all good with me." Nate smirked at us. "I just get to keep a closer eye." I stood between Miles and Nate as Nora escorted him away, making sure that they wouldn't attack each other. Miles sighed heavily and turned and began to walk up the steps of the stage.

"Where are you going?" Charlie asked.

"I'm going to go get my sword, if that's okay with you." Miles barked at her before turning back around to get his sword.

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 _*****Flashback*****Five years after the blackout*****23 Years old******_

 _I sat in the cherry wood chair in front of a mahogany desk staring at the glistening oak hardwood floor. I tugged at the handcuffs on my hands, the metal edges cutting into my wrists. General Matheson and General Monroe stood in front of me, leaning against the desk. An eerie silence cloaked the room but the loudness in my head was killing me. My thoughts kept going back to my brother. Him kicking and screaming as they took him and separated him from me._

 _"You had some speed back there." General Monroe finally broke the silence. "I have to admit, you were out of the camp before I even registered what had happened. You're quick." I lifted my bright blue eyes from the floor and looked General Monroe straight in the eyes._

 _"Are you going to kill me or you gonna talk me to death?" I snapped. General Monroe looked at General Matheson and gave a light chuckle._

 _"You hear this, Miles? She tried stealing our food and she wants to give us an attitude?" He returned his attention back to me and his expression hardened. "You do know that the penalty for stealing from the Monroe Republic is death?" He paused, letting the words sink into me. "But, I believe that you have potential and could be useful to the Monroe Republic." I snickered._

 _"If you think, I'll do anything for the Monroe Republic, then you're full of shit." He looked at General Matheson again and chuckled._

 _"I'm beginning to like her." General Matheson's face remained hard and expressionless. "You have charisma. I like that."_

 _"I'm not working for you."_

 _"Even if it meant keeping your brother alive?" My face turned pale._

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"What if I told you I can give you and your brother shelter, food. . . protection?" I stared deep into his hazel eyes, trying to decipher if this was all a lie or not. "But in return, you work for the Monroe Republic."_

 _"Where's James?"_

 _"He's safe. Would you like to see him?" I slowly nodded my head." Guard!" The oak doors behind me opened and a young guard walked in. "You can remove her restraints." The guard unlocked my handcuffs and I rubbed the raw skin on my wrists where the cuffs were cutting into me. I followed General Monroe out of the room and out of the giant house. We walked a couple blocks over and walked up the front steps of a log cabin. He opened the front door for me and I reluctantly stepped through. I walked into the foyer and to the right was a living room with a blazing fireplace. In front of the fireplace was a little boy with spiky black hair. I could make out his light, natural tan skin that formed nicely over his wide shoulders and muscular arms._

 _"James?" The boy turned and looked at me with his small, bright green eyes._

 _"Talia!" He breathed my name as he scrambled to his feet and ran past the guard that was watching him and barrled into me, wrapping his arms around me. I embraced him and buried my face into his hair, welcoming the relief into my body. He was so warm. Warmer than I can ever remember. It must because he was sitting by the fire. I looked at the fireplace, watching the flames lick the bark on the logs. Warmth. It was the middle of winter and my little brother was warm. He was safe and alive. General Monroe's offer raced through my mind. I pushed James away from me and cupped his face in my hands._

 _"Go sit by the fire. I'll be with you in a minute." He nodded and went back to the fireplace. I walked back out of cabin and into the frigid cold with General Monroe and General Matheson behind me. I crossed my arms and looked out into the streets and watched people hustle around, trying to finish their work and get back inside. "So, if I do this, whatever you want, James will be taken care of?"_

 _"I can assure you, he will. I swear it." I bit my bottom lip, debating on my decision. But I really didn't have one. It was either work for the Monroe Republic and James lives or leave and James dies. And James dying wasn't an option._

 _"Then, the answer is yes. I'll do it."_

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I walked ahead of the group, my bow in my hand. We were almost out of the city when a growl sounded behind us followed by three more growls. We all turned on our heels to see the pack of dogs barking at us.

"Okay, there's a diner behind us." Miles said. "On the count of three, we haul ass, got it?" Before he could even start counting, the rottweiler charged and the pack followed. "Three!" For the second time in the past twenty-four hours, we were running for our lives. I opened the door to the diner and rushed inside with the others behind me. Miles was the last one in and quickly closed the door behind him as the dogs barreled into the glass door.

"Where's Maggie?" Charlie asked, looking around frantically.

"She was right behind me." Nora said. A woman's yell sounded outside and Miles and I didn't think twice as we rushed outside towards the yell. We ran through a hole in a picket fence and saw Maggie sitting on the ground, gasping in pain as she gripped her leg. Blood was spewing between her fingers.

"Grab her." I said as I pulled Miles's sword from his sheath. I had his sword in my right hand and mine in my left as I looked around, ready for an attack. I took the lead and led Miles back to the diner with Maggie in his arms. We got inside and Charlie rushed to her side as Miles gently set her down on the ground.

"Maggie!" Charlie cried out. "What happened?"

"There's a guy out there." Miles said as I handed him back his sword.

"What guy?" Aaron inquired. "Who?"

"Maggie, what did he say?"

"He said, I killed his dog." Maggie breathed.

"Oh, this is just great. That's not just a pack of strays out there. They belong to that pyscho. They're his attack dogs."

"Listen, he severed an artery. I'm bleeding out."

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"With those dogs out there, how the hell do we get out?" Aaron asked.

"Just keep the doors locked." Miles said. "Nora, Talia. Let's go." Miles climbed through the kitchen window and helped Nora through and I grabbed the top of the window and slid on my side through the window.

"You're going out there? They're right outside."

"We'll get up to the roof. Hopscotch a few buildings over. Put some distance between us." Nora and I peeled the vent cover off of the ventilation and I cupped my hands for her to step into and hoisted her into the vent.

"I'm going to find this whack job. And he's going to call off his mutts. Believe me." Miles placed his firm hands on my hips and my breath hitched in my throat and helped me into the vent behind Nora.

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After scouting the area for a while, we made our way back to the diner and climbed back in the way we went out. Nora and I followed Miles back through the kitchen window to where we walked over to Maggie and Aaron.

"We couldn't find him." Miles informed the others.

"Miles, he took Charlie." Aaron said.

"He what?"

"Which door did he come in?" Nora asked.

"Miles." Nate called out and Miles turned and glared at him. "Heavily armed, multiple knives, hauled her through the kitchen. Last I saw she was still alive." Miles pulled out his sword and walked over to Nate to cut him free.

"You're coming with me." Miles said.

"Uh, I need to operate." Aaron said. "I need help."

"I'll stay." Nora offered.

"I'll go with Miles." I said.

"No." Miles objected and I looked at him questioningly. "If he comes back while Aaron and Nora are helping Maggie, I need you to fend him off."

"Miles,"

"Talia, please, for once, can you follow orders?" I bit my lip and sighed. "Thank you. I'll bring her back, Maggie."

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I stood in front of the diner and looked around, keeping an eye for the man. I watched the dogs bark and scratch at the glass doors trying to get in and then they just scattered. I pulled out my sword expecting the man to come walking up but instead it was Miles and Nate with Charlie behind them. I opened the door for them and Charlie rushed over to Maggie's side.

"What happened to the dogs?" Nora asked and Miles held up a dog whistle.

"I gave them a time out."

"Charlie?" Aaron breathed.

"I'm fine." Charlie said hastily as she crouched down beside Maggie. "How is she?"

"I'm, uh, I'm almost done."

"You saved me, Charlie." Maggie breathed, her eyes and head drooping from the lack of blood in her body.

"That's right." Charlie smiled at her. "We're going to save you, okay?"

"No. You _saved_ me. Thank you."

"No, no. Don't talk like that. Hey. You're going to be okay."

"Charlie, I lost too much blood."

"No." Aaron whimpered. "I did just what you said."

"I'd like my phone."

"Maggie, please." Charlie's voice shook as she tried to keep it together. Aaron scrunged through Maggie's bag and pulled out a Wizard of Oz book before pulling out the iPhone and handing it to Maggie who grasped in her hands and smiled down at the blank screen. Maggie's head drooped lower and her eyes closed as she took her last breath. I turned my back to the others and ran my hand through my hair as I put my sword away. "Please don't go, Maggie." I turned back around to see tears streaming down Charlie's face. "Maggie, please don't go. Maggie, please don't. . . Maggie! Please don't go, please. Please don't leave me. Maggie! Everybody leaves me, please don't." I looked over at Miles who was watching his niece with sorrow. He bent down and clutched her shoulders as they shook with grief. He picked her up to her feet and pulled her into his arms as she cried harder.

"I'm not going anywhere." Miles whispered to her. "Okay? I'm not going to leave."


End file.
